Rauner's Tight Ties with the Koch Brothers

BRUCE RAUNER’S OVERLAPPING INTERESTS

by Lynda DeLaforgue

Multi-millionaire Illinois Republican Candidate for Governor, Bruce Rauner makes a lot of contributions. However, one of the largest recipients of his generosity is the Donors Trust. The Donors Trust is a “donors advised fund” meaning that donors do not control who gets the money, but they can offer suggestions. The Donors Trust is commonly associated with the Koch Brothers. It raises money from wealthy individuals and foundations and gives it to right wing, libertarian organizations that emphasize private action to address social hardship, “as opposed to government involvement”. Mr. Rauner contributed a total of $700,000 to the Donors Trust in 2011 and 2013. During the two years that Mr. Rauner gave directly to the Donors Trust, the Trust gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to right wing advocacy organizations that Bruce Rauner himself also funded directly through his family foundation. The diagram below shows the interconnections between Bruce Rauner’s contributions and entities funded by the Koch Brothers and their Donors Trust.